Container controversy, what’s it all about?

The Jaffna District Independent MP, Ramanathan Archchuna, made allegations that the weapons in the 323 containers that were released without physical inspection belonged to LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabakaran

Director General of Customs, Sarath Nonis, mentioned about four methods that are followed in clearing containers, they include: Clearing after physical inspection, scanning, both physical inspection and scanning and clearing without physical inspection or scanning

Ramanathan Archchuna, the Jaffna District Independent MP who seems to be fond of stirring controversies, apparently in a bid for attention seeking had on June 5, put forward an interesting theory on the 323 containers that are now in the centre of a hullabaloo after they were released from the Colombo harbour without undergoing physical inspection. 

He stated in Parliament, a privileged place for politicians to make any false allegation against anybody, that the containers in question contained weapons belonging to Velupillai Prabakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the separatist outfit that was decimated by the armed forces sixteen years ago. 

He said that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, during his visit to Germany last year as the leader of the National People’s Power (NPP), met the diaspora, as a result of which the containers with Prabakaran’s weapons have arrived in Sri Lanka from Thailand. He did not identify the diaspora anyway as to whether they were Tamils or Sinhalese, or generally Sri Lankans. 

The statement, which could have been a bombshell if it had been made during the war, did not move even MP Dayasiri Jayasekara or National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Werawansa or Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila. The best part of his statement was the way he attempted to convince the audience by stating that he made it with responsibility, while in the same breath saying that he cannot prove the veracity of it. 

Nevertheless, the controversy surrounding the 323 containers has become a thorn in the flesh of the NPP government, with politicians like Dayasiri Jayasekara and Udaya Gammanpila constantly heckling the government leaders in Parliament and outside of it. Yet, despite them wanting to blow up the issue, they too do not seem to have any idea as to what the containers really contained. 

The issue cropped up in January after Sri Lanka Customs released them without physical inspection following an inordinate delay in the clearance of containers in Colombo harbour, resulting in heavy congestion. The Opposition politicians and media were in such a haste to embarrass the government then, that they accused that the containers were released without inspection, as the importer of the consignment was Hanif Yusoof, the governor of Western Province, appointed by the NPP government. They let the governor alone only after he lodged a complaint with the CID that his reputation was being harmed. Besides, the Sri Lanka Customs also denied the Opposition’s claims. 

Director General of Customs, Sarath Nonis, with this denial, explained four methods that are followed in issuing clearance for containers in the harbour since September 2020, in a statement on January 29. Clearing after physical inspection, scanning, both physical inspection and scanning and clearing without physical inspection or scanning are the four methods, according to that press release. He stated that around 60 per cent of containers that reach the harbour are being released without physical inspection. 

The Customs Chief pointed out that due to congestion, a “Screen Unit” consisting of experienced senior officials of his department was established in July last year to release the containers deemed to be with tolerable risks. The Screen Unit functions under an Additional Director General of Customs and follows certain criteria in clearing containers. 

Since Nonis attributes the establishment of the Unit to the congestion of containers that are meant for physical inspection, the natural conclusion derived from it is that the Unit deals with the containers with tolerable risks, from those containers that have to undergo physical inspection. This new procedure has been followed several times since July 18, last year, two months prior to the Presidential election. 

Yet, the container congestion in Colombo port came to a head in December due to an increase in the arrival of ships in the port, according to government reports. Also, it has been attributed to the customs official taking more time to inspect containers following the establishment of a new unit called “Integrity Unit” within the Customs, in line with an International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendation to reduce corruption.

Against this backdrop, the government appointed a panel led by Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake in late December to take necessary steps to fast-track the release of containers from the port. And the Screen Unit, which met on January 18, decided to release the 323 containers in question according to the relevant criteria, under the instruction of the President, Minister Rathnayake and a panel headed by him, according to the statement issued by Customs chief Nonis.

If the Screen Unit is to act when there is considerable congestion in the port, the role played by the panel headed by the minister is not clear. Similarly, the instructions given to the Screen Unit by the President, the Minister and his panel are also not clear. The Unit has done what it has done several times before, since July last year, according to the Customs press release. Then, why only the release of these 323 containers has become a controversy is also not comprehensible. 

Ironically, not only the Opposition parties but also the government leaders who defend the release of these 323 containers without physical inspection seem to deem it an issue. Accordingly, the Finance Ministry has appointed a 5-member high-level committee headed by Deputy Treasury Secretary A.K. Seneviratne in February to investigate the release of these containers. Four months have lapsed, and the committee has yet to submit its report. Besides, the CID has also initiated a probe into the same, which is also not concluded yet. 

What we gather from these facts is that, as the Customs chief has stated in his statement, the Screen Unit of his department, which was established during the last government, has released these 323 containers, deeming them as ones with tolerable risks, as the unit was initially supposed to do. The department has done this consciously, taking somewhat of a chance, in the context of a huge congestion of containers in the port. 

Nonetheless, the Wharf Services Union on Thursday stated that the containers in question had been subjected to scanning. Nobody has denied it yet. Besides, Gammanpila has published a list of items that were supposedly contained in the controversial containers. Hence, the department must take responsibility for what they did and for anything that might go wrong, which is not something new, especially since July last year. 

Similarly, the President, Minister Rathnayake and his panel must do the same if they have given any instruction beyond the parameters of the Screen Unit.